The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

Cotton is racing in the Belmont next week. If it’s a race like the Derby, they’ll have to carry me home.”

“Next week, huh? If it didn’t take days to get to New York and back again, I’d go with ye.”

“We have a private railroad car. It’ll take two days to get there, two to get home. What do ye say?”

“Let me think about it and talk to Meredith. We brought Emily Duffy with us, but she can’t stay too long because of her diabetes.” Elliott eased into one of the rockers and almost sighed. It seemed like days since he’d paused long enough to breathe easily.

And it was only this morning that Penny brought him news that changed their lives.

They rocked in silence while sipping their drinks. Then Sean asked, “How many brooches do ye have now? When ye went to Napa, Thomas said ye had the ruby, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst. Have ye found others?”

“Four more found us—diamond, amber, pearl, topaz—and a fifth one has surfaced. We’re here to find it, as well as my son.”

“Yer son traveled with one and didn’t tell ye?”

“Aye, and we have reason to believe he’s coming here. A friend of his disappeared, but we think the brooch got too hot to hold, and she dropped it. James Cullen found it, and for some reason, decided to rescue her and not involve me. We believe he also dropped the brooch, and a third person picked it up and disappeared. What we don’t know is who the third person is working for, or if he’s a threat to James Cullen and the brooches.”

“Who would want to hurt him?”

“We learned recently that early in the 1600s, the Keeper dispersed the brooches to keep them safe, but we didn’t know who or what the threat was. We now believe we know, and it’s a threat to all of us, now and in the future.”

“But ye can’t tell me?” Sean asked.

“That’s right.”

“Are ye the Keeper in the future?”

“I can’t tell ye that, either.”

Sean rocked his chair, and it creaked against the oak floorboards. “When I was about eighteen, I came out here to find my grandfather. He was sittin’ on this porch, talkin’ to a man in a red cloak. He had markings down his arm to his fingertips. I’d never seen him before or since, but he seemed to know my grandfather well. They laughed and talked in old Gaelic while I hid in the trees. When the sun began to set, they went inside the cabin. I waited for another hour or so, and then my grandfather came out and walked away. I waited a while longer and probably dozed off, but the man never came out. It was getting dark, but I couldn’t leave until I found out who he was.

“I knocked on the door. When no one answered, I went in expecting to find the man, but he wasn’t there. To this day, I don’t know where he went.”

There was much more to the story than a disappearing man in a red cloak whom Elliott assumed was Erik, but he didn’t know what. “Did ye smell anything unusual inside the cabin?”

“Nothing. And there were no lamps on or a fire in the fireplace. A man went in, stayed for a while, and then vanished.”

“And ye never mentioned it to yer grandfather.”

“Never. Grandfather would have walloped me if he caught me spying on him.”

“Is there a cellar or a tunnel?”

“I’ve searched several times over the years but never found one.”

Just then, Cullen trotted into the clearing. “Lyle Ann got yer message, but she sent me out here to make sure ye both make it to dinner.”

“What about Meredith?” Elliott asked.

“The ladies just opened one of the bottles of Montgomery Winery chardonnay Meredith packed in her trunk. She said not to hurry.” Cullen dismounted and looped the reins over the hitching rail at the side of the cabin. “It’s good to see ye, Sean.”

The two men clasped arms, hugged, and thumped each other’s backs. “It’s good to see ye, too. We need to make another toast. Let me get ye a wee dram.”

As soon as Sean went inside the cabin, Elliott said to Cullen, “Sean just told me about a man who was here years ago meeting with his grandfather. Based on the description, it had to be Erik.”

“We knew Erik traveled around, but I wonder why he was here,” Cullen said.

“I wish I knew.”

“Maybe Tavis knows.”

“I doubt it, and even if he did, he wouldn’t tell me. I’ve got to get inside this cabin alone and investigate.”

Sean returned with Cullen’s drink. “Take my chair. I’ll get another one.”

Cullen took the wee dram and sat on the railing. “Not necessary, Sean. This is fine. Kit Cullen took the wee dram and sat on the railing. “Not necessary, Sean. This is fine. Kit told me to come right back. She wants to tour the stallion barn.” He held up his glass. “Sláinte!”

Sean resettled in the rocking chair. “What’s it like living in the future? Are ye happy there? Is Kit?”

“We’re both happy, but we miss the children and grandchildren. As for what it’s like, it’s easy. Kit and I don’t have to worry about having food to eat or a place to live, partly because we get a share of the business at the winery since we’re legacy owners. We didn’t want it, but Meredith insisted, and ye can’t argue with her.”

“Do ye live here at the farm or the winery?”

“We split our time between MacKlenna Farm and Charlotte and Braham’s home in Virginia. Occasionally we go to the winery, but there isn’t anything we can do there. At least at the farm, we can work with the Thoroughbreds. Would ye believe travel time between Lexington and Richmond is ninety minutes? Ninety minutes!” Cullen shook his head. “If I want to ask Braham a question, I press a button, and he answers. And not only can I talk to him, but I can see him, too. I